Share Joys

6 Focus

December 16, 2022

Focus

December 16, 2022 7

Principals compete in Cookie Cram

By: Morrison Fry

LO’T Focus Reporter This year, the second annual Cookie Cram kicked off MHS’s annual Share Joys fundraiser on December 2 during halftime of the boys basketball game held at Wharton Fieldhouse. This is an event in which principals and staff from the Moline-Coal Valley School District all come together and participate in the Cookie Cram contest as a way to help raise money. The Cookie Cram is essentially a cookieeating contest, where the rules are simple: Eat the most cook-

MHS Cookie Cram Cookie Cram winners Asst. Principal Ehlers, Principal Moore, and Dean Youngblood pose with their winning trophy. Photo courtesy Heidi Norcross. ies, and don’t let the referee see you cheat! This year’s participants were as follows: Butterworth: Julie Paup and Paul Sanders Franklin: Grant Putnam and Diane Blaser Hamilton: Lynsy Oswald and Doug Bodeen Jane Addams: Teresa Landon, Lynn Vershaw, and Stephanie Davis Lincoln Irving: Rosi Portillo and Charles Moore Logan: Tom Ferguson and Darren Dykstra Moline High School: Chris Moore, Scott Ehlers, and Hamilton Principal Lynsy Oswald eats cookies while Asst. Principal Doug Bodeen cheers her on. Photo courtesy Susan Hafner. Nick Youngblood, Roosevelt: Paul Mills and Jake Viaene, and Athletic Director Todd Thompson oversaw the competition as the event’s referee. This year’s Cookie Cram raised $2,716. By using a multiplier based on enrollment, Jane Addams won “most money raised” with $635 in donations (Teresa Landon, Lynn Vershaw, and Stephanie Davis). MHS was second with $728 (due to the multiplier). As for the CookieEating, Moline High School’s team of Chris Moore, Scott Ehlers, and Nick Youngblood won that prize. When Mr. Moore was asked what is the most exciting aspect of this event to him, he replied, “Interacting with other fellow principals, and the idea that they all can come together and participated in a great event.” This year’s Cookie Cram was a great success. Mr. Moore even said he is just so proud of the Moline-Coal Valley District for coming together for such a great cause, and all of the principals and staff were happy to “compete” against one another for the goal of raising money for kids!

Logan Principal Tom Ferguson shows his American spirit as he prepare for the Cram. Photo courtesy Heidi Norcross Share Joys logo. Photo courtesy Janice Tsogbe

Share the joy!

By: Maranda Bargren

LO’T Focus Editor One of the annual traditions of Moline High School during the holiday season is Share Joys. This tradition is based around gathering donations for the in-need children of the district. This year, the culminative efforts of district administrators, staff, and students garmered a total of $55,395.17! This money raised will go toward clothing for children in need. During Share Joys, there are a multitude of different events, including some new ones that were added this year, such as the dance hosted by Latinos Unidos and the festival for Elementary school students to participate in winter-themed games and crafts. During the school day, three aspects of Share Joys dominate the week: the student and staff raffle, where members of the school buy tickets in hopes of winning big, the elves roaming the hallways with treats, and the classroom fun occuring on the Thursday and Friday of the Share Joys week. The top elves of this year’s ShareJoys included seniors Anandi Hoogheem, Olivia Gratton, and Graham Crippen. “It was worth every oreo ball I made,” says Anandi.

The “President” wins the Big Donut!

By: Maranda Bargren

LO’T Focus Editor

One of the long-held traditions of Share Joys is the Donut Eating Contest, which happened on Thursday, December 8 during seventh period. In this contest, teams of 5-6 need to eat (or pretend to eat) an entire box of donuts. Cheating is not allowed, so if they are caught cheating, more donuts are added to their box. The teams that make it to the final round must eat one last donut in the shortest time possible. Typically, the competition takes place in the cafeteria, but starting last year, it has been held in the Bartlett. This year, the competitors were only allowed to use the front portion of the stage since most of the stage was occupied by the set for this year’s Puffs performance. Because of this, only four teams were allowed to eat at a time rather than all of the teams eating at once. 12 student teams and 2 teams consisting of members of the Moline Fire Department competed in 4 rounds, with the fastest in each advancing to the final round. The first round consisted of Oscar and the Grouches, a Sesame Street-themed team, with its eater dressed as Oscar the Grouch in a life-sized trashcan, Santa’s Workshop, with its eater dressed as Santa and other members dressed as reindeers, Despicable Us, with its eater dressed as Gru and other members as minions, and Willy Wonka and the Donut Factory, with its eater dressed as WIlly Wonka and the other members as Oompa Loompas, the winner of this round was Despicable Us. Round 2 consisted of Presidential Powers, with each member dressed as a different president or secret service member Santa and his Thugs, with its eater dressed as Santa and the other members as thugs in white muscle tanks and Santa hats, The PKs (Pastry Killers), with its members dressed as soccer team members and its eater as a soccer ball, and the Scooby Doo team, with members dressed as various Scooby Doo members and its eater as Scooby the Dog. Round 3 consisted of Disney Donuts, with its members dressed as various Disney princesses, Elderly Eaters, with its members dressed as various elderly folk, Nightmare Before Christmas, with its members dressed as

Members of the Charlie and the Donut Factory team posing for a photo before their eat-off., including eater Amy Anderson. Photo courtesy Chase Tholl.

Members of the Despicable Us team, including eater Liam Woodward, being penalized with an extra donut for being caught cheating. Photo courtesy Chase Tholl. various characters from the Tim Burton film, and Christmas at the Beach, with its members dressed in Christmasthemed beach attire. Round 4 consisted of the fire department members, joined by their trusty Dalmatian mascot, split off into two teams. The Winner of the final round was none other than Team Presidential Powers, with Zachary Houtekier as its eater. “I didn’t think I was going to win. I was just doing it for the fun,” he told Dispatch-Argus. “Me and my team talked about strategies, but I wasn’t really focusing on that. I was just trying to have a good time.” Additionally, awards were given to the student teams that donated the most to this year’s Share Joys campaign. The runner-up team was Despicable Us, and the winner of the “Top Banana” award was the Elderly Eaters, who donated over $1,000 to Share Joys. This year’s Donut Eating Contest raised around $7,000 towards Share Joys. “The best thing about it is that we constantly reiterate our mission that this is for a good cause,” said Principal Chris Moore to KWQC.

8 Entertainment

December 16, 2022 World Cup reflects societal changes as tension rises

By: Harrison VanVooren LO’T Entertainment Editor

FIFA selected Qatar as the first Arabian country and only the second Asian country chosen to host the World Cup. Outspending the previous World Cup in Brazil, Qatar has spent nearly 200 billion dollars more in order to host this highly publicized event. However, the increase in spending has not gone without controversy. It has been widely reported that slavery was used to build Qatar’s facilities and stadiums which resulted in nearly six thousand five hundred deaths. Poor treatment and working conditions for Qatar’s workers has led to renewed calls for basic human rights and priveledges. The World Cup has also been censored by the Qatarians by not allowing LGBTQ+ attire within the stadiums. The World Cup has taken the world by storm with an average of 227 million viewers everyday and a projected 5 billion views by the end of the series. Although many teams have made it to the draw, only one will come out on top and it seems France is favored to win, repeating last year’s win. I’ve personally had my eyes on France to win because I’m currently taking French and am now familiar with their culture. Speaking of classes, this World Cup series is being held during November and December, instead of the summer months because of the extreme climate of Qatar. Students support their favorite teams by wearing their player’s jerseys and many attempt to watch a match when they can. Finally, this World Cup could be Messi and Ronaldo’s last World Cup. The two most influential players of the sport, and maybe the most popular sport’s players in the world.

By: Lucky Damade

LO’T News Reporter The “Need for Speed” franchise is one that is loved by both gamers and car enthusiasts. It is an open-world racing game that implements free roam and racing. “Need For Speed” is famous for being one of the only games that has active police that will chase you and try to take you down for street racing. Additionally, there is an arcade-ish feel for handling. This makes “Need For Speed” stand out from many other racing games which try to replicate real life scenarios (also known as “Sim Racing”). For 2022 “Need For Speed Unbound”, which released on December 2nd, is introducing a mix of anime/comic art style for the characters in the game while keeping the realism aspect for the cars and environment. Unbound’s city of Lakeshore is based on the real-life city of Chicago. One strength of the “Need For Speed” series is the sheer amount of customization the game has, which Unbound continues, each car has around 100 parts that can interchange with each other including wheels, fenders, and the spoilers from many reputable brands such as BBS, APR Performance, Rocket Bunny, and Wilwood. Another addition to “Need For Speed Unbound” is the introduction of a new main character, rapper A$AP Rocky who is the leader of the game’s “Takeover” events. A$AP Rocky’s tastefully modified Mercedes 190E is the game’s cover car detailed with the comic-inspired effects and background The music playlist is comprised of rap, pop, dance, electronica, trap, and alternative. A$AP Rocky has a few songs of his own in the game such as “Babushka Boi”, “Palace”, and “The God Hour”. Finally, the inventory of cars consists of 143 cars ranging from Acura to Volvo; you can earn Bank,which is the in-game currency, through the race events around the map which allow the player to purchase vehicles, parts, upgrades, and more. Overall, the game has received good reviews by critics and players, such as 73% approval by Metacritic, a 4 out of 5 by GamesRadar, and an 82% by Google users. The game is gaining traction with its different take on racing compared to the Forza and Gran Turismo series which seems to accounts for its success.

In a similar way that earlier audiences rooted for Pele, today’s followers of the sport are rooting for Ronaldo or Messi to win one last World Cup. This series will be one that will go down in history as one of the most exciting and highly publicized events in professional sports. I would rate the World Cup an 8/10 because it creates opportunities to create change and equality for all through competitive sports. I enjoy that aspect of soccer because peace and love is something that should always be at the center of humanity.

Photo in courtesy of The-Sun

“Need For Speed” returns with rapper A$AP Rocky